Movie Review: Vegas Vacation (1997)

Synopsis: After receiving a big bonus and time off at work, Clark Griswold surprises his family with a trip to Las Vegas, where he hopes to have one final vacation with his growing kids and re-marry his wife, Ellen. However, when Clark visits the casino and becomes obsessed with gambling, he risks losing his family as well as all their money.

Review: My wife, kids and I participated in a 4th of July parade yesterday and, after being in the hot sun (two of us walking the whole way) for a couple hours, we were ready to take a break when we got home. As we relaxed on our couch, eating lunch, my wife and I came across this movie and, even though we've seen it countless times before, decided to watch it again. As it turns out, it was a good choice.

Other than the first film, this is my favorite of the Family Vacation movie franchise. This is mostly because, once Clark (Chase) gets the gambling bug, it's hard to tell what will happen next. Will he lose his family's money? Or, will he finally end up on a winning streak and bail himself out at the last minute? And, unlike many other films in this genre, the ending wasn't as predictable as I thought it would be.

One thing that really helps this movie is the supporting cast. This includes Wayne Newton (playing himself), who manages to steal his scenes, especially when he plays himself off as being extremely lonely and maybe a little insane. And, of course, Cousin Eddie (Quaid) manages to carry a few of the scenes himself and even, at times, manages to be the surprising voice of wisdom.

I think the thing that really wins me over about this movie is the way it gives the entire franchise some closure. The Griswold kids (Embry and Nichols) take another step into adulthood, Clark and Ellen (D'Angelo) survive yet another threat to their marriage and ultimately make it stronger. And, even Clark and Eddie end up bonding at the end. I've seen a lot of other film franchises end without making as much of an effort as this movie did and I think filmmakers should pay attention to it as a result.

Final Opinion: The first movie is still the best. But, this one is almost as good and is worth taking the time to watch if you haven't seen it.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Even though I got picked on a bit because of this, I figured I would share it because it was a bit bizarre and I'm confident I didn't imagine it.

I was at the office yesterday, sitting at my desk and, out of nowhere, I had a puff of smoke in my face.

I have no idea what it was. It came from behind me, as though someone were standing back there smoking a cigarette. But, I couldn't find the source of the smoke and didn't see any time before or after that.

At first, I thought maybe I was imagining it or there was a smoke-like stain on my glasses that was giving me an illusion. However, in addition to seeing it, I could smell it too and it burned my nose the same way it burns when I accidentally inhale smoke while grilling. Because of that, I'm positive it was really there.

It was a little unnerving, to be honest, and I spent most of the afternoon trying to find the cause. I even attempted to do a video feedback on the security camera but that turned out to be password…

It was only supposed to be cloudy today (at least according to the weather report I saw). However, I (correctly) suspected we would get rain so I squeezed in a short walk before going into the office this morning.

It was dark and gloomy out, something that always makes it difficult to get high-quality photos. But, I did manage to get a few.

For the first time this year, I could go for my lunchtime walk without needing a jacket. And, I wasn't the only one who was enjoying the warm weather. There were plenty of critters coming out of hiding today, including a ton of turtles (which is why there are a lot of them in the photos).